Theatre group's war time tales (From The Northern Echo)

Theatre group's war time tales

10:56am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in Darlington

A THEATRE company will be teaching children about the devastating consequences of the war and genocide.

Souvenir d’Anne Frank, a new music and theatre production from company Ensemble, will arrive at Darlington Arts Centre tonight (thurs) after the world premiere in Manchester.

The show tells the both the story of Anne Frank using her famous diary, and that of the Souvenir d’Anne Frank rose in Japan.

The flower, created to commemorate Anne, was sent to Japan by her father, Otto many years after the war as a gift to a young Japanese girl.

Roses grafted from this original rose now bloom at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all over Japan, as a national symbol of peace and reconciliation.

The production uses live piano, violin and cello, as well as poetry, performance and song to tell these moving and inspiring stories.

To accompany the tour will be a programme of educational workshops, which will take place at St Aidan’s Academy and Darlington College.

An exhibition created during Ensemble’s workshop programme with Manchester’s Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST), will be on display at Darlington Arts Centre alongside the performances.

Elizabeth Mansfield, the theatre company’s artistic director and Olivier Award nominee, said: “I’m delighted to be performing in Souvenir d’Anne Frank in Darlington and to be telling the fascinating story of Anne Frank and her rose in such a unique and entertaining way.

“I hope the post show discussions with key figures from local organisations will engage our audiences with the central themes of the play, and how these relate to current hardships faced by people seeking asylum today.”

The production is tonight (Thurs) and tomorrow (Fri) at 8pm